Page 284 - Il Mediterraneo quale elemento del Potere Marittimo - Atti 16-18 settembre 1996

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THEAN D. POTGIETER
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lower the boats <3 >. After the ship sank, about nine surviving crew members, in-
cluding the CO, Lt Lewis, were floundering in the water. Lewis called the swim-
mers together, said a prayer, they all sang a hymn; and then, as they drifted apart,
he told them that it was now every man for himself(35>. The following day an Au-
stralian destroyer picked up the sole survivor, Stoker C.J.Jones who had spent mo-
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re than fourteen hours in the water <3 >. Jones incidently, was a South Mrican rating
serving aboard the HMS Gloucester, who had been "loaned" to the Southern F/oe for
the trip. The loss of this ship, although a trivial incident in the war, was the firsr
the SDF suffered and was a grievous blow. The ship spent less than a month on
station and few people in South Africa were aware of that they had arrived or had
bee n in action <3 7).
By Aprii, the Sotttherns alwa ys operated alone an d, as a rule, they were the sole
escort to their convoys, ~~a true reflection of the difficult cimes the Navy [were]
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having" <3 >. On these convoys, the Southerns, as mainly anti-aircraft (AA) escorcs,
regularly and heavily engaged the enemy. For the crews Iife was very strenuous:
The AA guncrews were kept closed up throughout the day and still had ro keep
their usual watches at night. Trew informed the South African Naval authorities
that the Southerns were che only ships of their type doing ocean escort-work on che
Northern supply roure; where they had practically alone shouldered the burden
of that difficulc task; and that che ships engines and the men had suffered. Despite
very good morale, che officers and men were "beginning to feel che strain" and
they badly needed rest after three weeks away. The rest period was normally one
week after three weeks of escorting and patrolling. During this peri od, -boilers had
co be clean'ed, many defects had co be attended to and since che officers and men
usually went "on a spree" at night, they were not getting rea! resr<39>.
The South African ships cook no pare in the evacuation of Greece and Crete
in Aprii and May 1941, but were nonetheless affected by che reduced number of
ships available off the Libyan coast, where an Axis offr:nsive was driving east. This
offensive by-passed Tobruk and captured Bardia; and, from Aprii, Tobruk was
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cut off and could only be supplied by sea < >. The town suffered heavily from con-
sistent bombardment and was essentially in ruins. No building, other than the
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Roman Catholic church, appeared to be intact <n. Alli ed land forces, having ac-
cumulated some months' supplies at Tobruk, were anxious to hold it despite the
situation in che Western Desert which was rapidly growing worse and a surroun-
ded Tobruk carne under constane attack. Following the decision to hold Tobruk,
che supply of the town by sea became a major responsibility for the Navy. Convoys
were heavily bombed at sea and in the harbour; and later che Navy was forced
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to send a single ship at a rime as "there was no fighter protection at all" < >. To-
bruk became a " ... long tale of ships Iost and damaged in supplying che forcress
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... ali ships approaching it, were mercilessly bombed" <3>. The Southerns often sai-
led for Tobruk and were soon running the gauntlec of air attacks in "bomb al/ey''
becween Alexandria and Tobruk.